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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 120 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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Word bank
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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: rest · spring · court · wake · face · calf · race · tube

  1. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  2. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  3. The ball is in your ________________.
  4. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  5. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  6. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  7. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  8. I'll be taking the ________________.
  9. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  10. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  11. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  12. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  13. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  14. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  15. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  16. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  17. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  18. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  19. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  20. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  21. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  22. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  23. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  24. I would like to have a ________________ here.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. rest — what's left
  2. rest — what's left
  3. court — for sport
  4. tube — a container
  5. face — part of the head
  6. wake — to stop sleeping
  7. calf — a young animal
  8. tube — the underground
  9. face — to point toward
  10. race — a contest
  11. court — of a king
  12. race — the arms race
  13. spring — of water
  14. tube — in a tire
  15. wake — before a funeral
  16. wake — a trail
  17. court — of law
  18. calf — of the leg
  19. calf — a young animal
  20. face — to confront
  21. spring — the season
  22. race — humankind
  23. spring — a coil
  24. rest — a break

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com